it’s a jungle out here: bush living through the eyes of a city girl

While we’re out here in bush orientation, I thought I’d take a chance to write down some of the things that have taken me a little time to get used to about living out here in “the bush”.

· There are pigs everywhere. This may not be the case in every village, but it is the case here. These pigs dig up the grass all over the place, but especially near the water tank next to the house we’re living in. They can turn a beautiful patch of grass into a dug-up mud pit in less than 10 minutes.

· The roosters here have no concept of time. They crow at all hours, don’t respect anyone’s naptime, and because they wander freely around the village, there’s always one crowing nearby.

· You can see the stars here. I mean, you can REALLY see the stars here. On clear nights, the whole sky is full of stars, and they actually do twinkle. I just thought that was a myth in a song, but nope, they actually do twinkle!

· I’ve had to learn to live in the dark. We use solar panels and batteries for getting electricity out here in the bush, but since the batteries in this house are old, we have limited power supply after the sun goes down. So after dark, we live in the dark, navigating around the house with a flashlight. This has taken me a while to get used to, but I’m finally to the point where I’m not running into everything when the lights are out.

· Staying healthy is a constant battle. The climate and environment here in the jungle make it easy to get sick. The humidity saps our strength and dehydrates us quickly. It’s also a veritable greenhouse for making little cuts or scratches become infected sores in no time at all. Many of the mosquitos around us carry malaria, the flies spread germs, and the centipedes have deadly stings. The sweat, dirt, and grime from everyday living can easily stick to our skin and, if we’re not careful to scrub well, before we know it, we have a boil.

· Wherever I am, there are always critters nearby. Whether it’s a gecko eating bugs inside the house, or a frog jumping onto my foot when I’m walking outside in the dark, or a spider in yesterday’s dirty laundry, or a rat scampering in the bathroom at night.

· Life out here in the bush really is impacted by the weather. If it’s sunny, we get good electricity from the solar panels, so it’s a good day to get some work done on the computer. If it’s raining, there won’t be much electricity today, so maybe let’s wash clothes or do something to use the extra water that’s overflowing from the water tank. It’s very different than living somewhere where you basically have unlimited water and power, unless there’s a drought or big power outage. It just takes some getting used to, and definitely has grown me in flexibility!